Not Just a Book
by JesusFreakInc
Summary: Written by Irish Froggy. On the brink of the wedding, Charlie finds something that brings back many childhood memories of Bella. Very sweet. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.**

**Charlie**

The house was too quiet – too quiet to allow sleep. I shifted in my bed, staring at the ceiling. Pacing around the room – as I'd been doing for the past few hours – wouldn't help either. But if I didn't figure out something soon, I would falling asleep all over the place tomorrow…and on a day that Bella needed me.

I groaned, kicking off the blankets and running a hand through my hair. It was too much. How was a man supposed to sleep, knowing that his daughter would be leaving the next morning?

Suddenly, I couldn't stay there anymore. I shoved open the door, considering taking a short walk around the block. Even as my mind considered this, though, my eyes wandered around to the door at the end of the hallway. A walk wasn't what I needed now.

I sighed, padding over to the door, gently sliding it open. I winced nervously as it creaked, the hinges still rusty. A bit of light from the hallway created a sliver on the carpet.

Bella didn't wake.

I slipped into the room, watching her curled-up form on the bed, waiting for my eyes to adjust. As it had turned out, I'd been right in my assumption that I was going to lose her soon. Just the next day, she'd come home with a ring on her finger…

My teeth clenched together. But it wasn't just that. It felt…as if I would _still _lose her, and not just that she would be changing her last name. Giving her away felt so…final. As if there was something I didn't know about. As if I was _really _losing her…as if I wouldn't see her again.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the disturbing thoughts. Billy was just rubbing off of me, that was all.

But I still felt that I needed to say goodbye.

The light from the window fell across a pair of suitcases stacked by the bed. I felt a lump in my throat as I glanced around the room. Bella's drawers were open and empty. Her clothes were packed away, no longer strewn messily around the room.

Tomorrow, she'd be moving into the Cullen's house temporarily. The wedding wasn't until the day after, but she would stay over at their house that night, to help with last minute preparations. This was the last night she would sleep here…the thought brought another, more painful lump to my throat.

I chuckled when I saw that one of her suitcases was open, her books spilling out – knowing Bella, she probably hadn't been able to part with those books, even for the night. I took the seat next to her desk, leaning down to quietly place the books back in her suitcase. Bella still didn't move. Her face was even paler in the moonlight, and her dark hair spilled off the edge of the bed, hanging near the floor. She looked incredibly peaceful.

My hands stopped over one of the books, and I frowned. The binding was leather, and it was thicker than the others. The pages were thin and light, rustling as I flipped it open.

I swallowed hard.

It was the Bible I'd given her as a little girl, so long ago. My eyes widened, and my hands traced over the familiar cover. It still looked new – obviously, she hadn't gotten much use out of it. It looked as if she'd barely opened it.

But I had. My mind flashed back to the nights, when she was just a little girl…when the idea of giving her away to become some man's wife was ludicrous. When I would slip into her room, reading the same passage to her as she slept, before kissing her goodnight. Every night, I'd done it, until she'd gotten too old for such things.

She had grown up so much…and I'd missed so much of it.

I was suddenly assaulted with hundreds of memories; memories from the short summers that I'd been allowed to spend with her: Bella as a three-year-old, clutching my hand as I led her to the playground; watching her laugh and bounce through the hallways after swimming lessons, creating little puddles of water on the floor; helping her wrap the presents for her first birthday party; seeing her eyes widen the first time I took her to the library, and following her around as she picked out book after book after book…

She'd always loved to read. I could remember when she was twelve; hiding under the blankets every night with a flashlight, thinking that I didn't know what she was up to. I felt a grin split over my face, and I could imagine her on the sofa, curled up with _Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park…_

I turned back to Bella, watching as her chest rose and fell. In just two days, she'd be gone…I'd be giving her away to Edward. The idea didn't bother me as much as it used to. Edward was much more mature and responsible than Jacob, though I still thought they were too young. But who knew? Bella was so different than Renee and I…

I just wished I could hold onto her longer.

My hands automatically flipped through the pages of the Bible. I didn't have to look to know I'd found the right page. It was dog-eared from the many times I'd stopped here, reading the same words over and over, meaning them as a blessing…without even thinking of it, I began to read.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want," I whispered into the dark room. "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

I glanced back at my sleeping daughter, and for a moment, I could imagine her as a little girl again. I didn't see a grown woman, about to be married – I saw a seven-year-old girl, with a tiny nose and short hair. I saw her hands curled around the blankets, hugging them to her chest. I saw the ribbons on her little white nightgown tickling her neck. I saw a little girl with no worries, no pains, no sorrows.

Tentatively, being careful not to wake her, I reached out and stroked her hair once. It was unbearable, the thought of her leaving…knowing that there were hardships she still had to go through, and I wouldn't be there to take care of her.

But she would have Edward now. I gripped her hand tightly. He'd better take good care of her…

The Bible flopped open to another page, and I glanced down, my eyes rising in surprise. I glanced down at the words without thinking.

_Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her._

_Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all._

I grinned, and snapped the book closed, slowly standing up. I tucked the Bible back into her suitcase, wondering if she'd ever open it again…if she'd ever see the passages I'd read to her over and over.

I kissed her on the forehead, just like I used to, and walked to the door, taking one last look back. The image of the little, seven-year-old girl was fading, and once more I could see Bella, peacefully asleep in her room for the last time. But in a way, it changed nothing. She was still my daughter, even if she would change her last name in two days.

My daughter.

My little girl.

My Bella.

I smiled and shut the door softly.

**So, what did you think? I'm not used to writing one-shots. How did I do?**

**By the way, the passages were: Psalm 23:1-4 and Proverbs 31:28-29**

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